Cedar Point: What Are The Chances We See Winterfest?
Will Cedar Point ever do Winterfest? A lot of park enthusiasts are dying for them to make some sort of announcement regarding the chances it does appear on the operating schedule. Don’t expect that to happen, though. Cedar Fair doesn’t seem to keen on the idea.
With virtually all of the Cedar Fair parks getting some sort of Winterfest (Michigan’s Adventure, Valleyfair, Cedar Point being the only 3 that don’t), there seems to be little love for Cedar Point. The chains most crowded park would take in lots of money for a holiday event. It’s just not going to happen, or at least we think it won’t.
The weather in Sandusky is just way too cold. Cleveland averages about 30 degrees during the time frame of November 20th – January 1st. It’ll get even colder on the lake than it does other Cedar Fair parks. There’s also the risk of snow, which occurs often during these months. Add to that, the lack of dark rides at the park.
Winterfest would at least give some incentive for Cedar Point to add a dark ride. Virtually no coasters would be able to run in cold weather. There should be an indoor ride. There’s no point in opening anything else, seeing as the smaller flat rides can’t be running either. One thing that might be offered at a Cedar Point Winterfest are a good amount of shows.
Truth be told, Cedar Point puts on some fantastic productions. By adding some Christmas entertainment at their three show venues, you’d have a great lineup. One of these would be a Christmas version of the popular Lusty Lil’s. You’d also possibly get a live Christmas music rock show.
The food would also be a huge hit. There are a lot of different options when it comes to food at Cedar Point. For the most part, everything is really tasty. Miss Keat’s BBQ could do a few Christmas offerings as would the Marketplace Buffet. In addition, MELT would also contribute a few seasonal items.
While shows and food are a big part of all Winterfest’s at Cedar Fair parks, you need to have staffing. This goes for all of the park, as nothing can be done without bodies willing to work. Cedar Point already has a tough time bringing in workers as it is. With only two weeks of winter break for most, that’s not enough time for anyone to work, even if the event only runs on weekends.
The catch is, Cedar Point would need to hire a lot fewer workers for Winterfest than a normal operating day. If no rides are to be run, there’s not a need for as much staff. A good amount still needs to be on hand, but, it’s not as much as you’d think.
Cedar Point sells out its annual Winter Chill out within days. There’s a definite demand for the park to open during the winter. The Winter Chill out is more an enthusiast event, yet, it still gets a good amount of interest. Can they find more than just year-round staff to run a Winterfest event?
One things for sure, the amount of lights would be grand. Seeing as the park goes all out for Halloween, I’d only imagine what it would look like for Christmas. There are a lot of guests who would travel the distance for Winterfest at Cedar Point to see this, that’s not a debate. Would there be enough demand to actually do it assuming the weather is bad?
Knowing Cedar Fair, Cedar Point will at some point get a Winterfest. Whether or not it happens for more than just a trial run isn’t known. There’s simply too much money to be made to not at least try. It’ll get cold, maybe snow, but that’s nothing to the Cedar Point faithful who might not have a Christmas event of this caliber in their area.
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Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
